Sipalay Airport ( Hiligaynon: ''Hulugpaan sang Sipalay'';

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

: ''Paliparan ng Sipalay''), also known as San Jose Airstrip and formerly known as Maricalum Airstrip, is an airport serving the general area of the city of

Sipalay Sipalay, officially the City of Sipalay ( hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Sipalay; fil, Lungsod ng Sipalay; ceb, Dakbayan sa Sipalay), is a 4th class component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it h ...

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. ...

, in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It used to actively serve the private planes of mining companies present in the area. The airport serves occasional chartered planes en route to the commercial and private resorts in the area.

History

Formerly owned by the Maricalum Mining Corporation, which shut down its copper mining operations in 1996, the airstrip was awarded to the City Government of Sipalay by a decision of the Regional Trial Court in Kabankalan, in the seat of Judge Henry Arles. In 2005, the City Council of Sipalay passed City Ordinance 2005-009 that laid down the expropriation of the property as an airport. The most notable guest to land in the airport was the private plane carrying then presidential candidate

Gilbert Teodoro Gilberto Eduardo Gerardo Cojuangco Teodoro Jr. (born June 14, 1964), nicknamed Gilbert or Gibo (), is a Filipino lawyer, politician and business executive who served as the Secretary of National Defense (Philippines), Secretary of National Def ...

, while campaigning in 2010. Sipalay abandoned airport hangar 02

Current use

Most air traffic to the airport is controlled from Bacolod–Silay International Airport and usually hosts short flights from

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occidenta ...

or Dumaguete-Sibulan Airport. A resort diving facility uses the airport to service VIP guests from Bacolod or Dumaguete to Sipalay, and onward flights to Cagayancillo Airport in

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...

, using a 6-seater chartered Cessna. Air Juan serves as the first commercial flight in the airport.

Commercial use

According to former Mayor, now Vice-Mayor, Oscar C. Montilla, the opening of the airport to commercial operations will boost the tourism initiative in southern Negros, adding further to the average of 50,000 tourists visiting the city alone. He further added last March 31, 2013 that SEAir has shown interest in operating charter flights to Sipalay. The airport will fulfill the role of a reliever airport mainly for the Kabankalan City Domestic Airport under construction. In May 2012, Former Negros Occidental Vice-Governor Genaro Alvarez, a pilot by profession, said that in only a few days should commercial operations commence as the runway only needs a grader and road roller to clear the runway. Commercial flights commenced August 3, 2017, served by Air Juan. However, flights were suspended on March 16, 2020, because of the COVID-19 global pandemic, which placed the entire country under lockdown. The airport was still served by Air Juan for evacuation flights of resident expatriates and tourists stranded in Sipalay, with seasonal flights from Manila and Cebu to serve locally stranded individuals to bypass

Bacolod–Silay Airport Bacolod–Silay Airport, also referred to as Bacolod–Silay International Airport ( hil, Hulugpaan sang Bacolod–Silay; fil, Paliparan ng Bacolod–Silay; ), is the main airport serving the general area of Metro Bacolod, in the Western Visaya ...

Airlines and destinations

References

{{authority control Airports in the Philippines Buildings and structures in Negros Occidental Transportation in the Visayas